Has anyone lived in Seattle and San Jose? Need Advice (San Francisco: apartment, crime)

[Californian12345]

Hi All,

My wife and I have lived in San Jose our whole lives and are thinking about moving to Seattle. We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old, really looking for a better quality of life, family friendly communities, and a nice house to settle down in. Been mainly looking at the Bellevue area, something on the east side.

Has anyone lived in the Bay Area as well as Seattle? What are some pros and cons? Really trying to figure out what to do with our lives!!!

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by trollsack

Seattle hands down. Like others say, San Jose is, was, and will always be: a safe, boring, technology job filled, family-friendly town.

If you are looking to have a nice downtown and an exciting city, you definitely would want to choose Seattle over San Jose. If you are an introvert or indoors person and don't ever like city bustle and excitement then I guess you can choose San Jose; San Jose has the least crime out of most major cities. Seattle doesn't have too much crime but obviously more than SJ. I've lived in SJ before and I can guarantee you that anything within 30 minutes of SJ is horrible and there is little variance; the suburbs in the South Bay (SJ area) are bland too BTW. SJ might have slightly better tech jobs than Seattle, but overall quality of outdoor life is down the drain. Your sons will probably be extremely bored in the South Bay.

Anyways, if you are going to move to the Bay Area, choose San Francisco as it at least has fun things to do and a nice scenery. However I would still choose Seattle over SFO as it is a bit more family friendly and there is less crime. I've visited Seattle before and it is actually a really green beautiful place yet still has a nice urban downtown. That said, SJ does have milder weather than Seattle. However I like the 300 days of rain in Seattle because at least it makes everything green, whereas in SJ all I see are brown hills.


Compare these two cities with pictures:

Spoiler

San Jose, population 1 million:


Seattle, population 600,000:

It's funny how you just so happen to show a picture of a very rare sunny day in Seattle. The OP was asking for information from somebody who's actually lived in both cities. What personal experience do you have with living in Seattle?

Also, SFO refers to San Francisco International Airport, not the region...any real local with actual personal knowledge of the SF Bay Area should be aware of this fact. You are truly living up to your username.

[Californian12345]

thanks guys. So to clarify, we currently live in San Jose. Was born and raised, so I know the Bay Area extremely well. My question is for people who have lived in both areas who have young families. just looking for some pros/cons of both areas.

thanks!

[ggcd951]

San jose to seattle 10:0. Lived there never liked it. If you are ok with constant drizzle with no chance of sun except for summer, average 5-6 hours of daylight and no concern of developing bipolar disorder as a result, I will recommend it.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by ggcd951

San jose to seattle 10:0. Lived there never liked it. If you are ok with constant drizzle with no chance of sun except for summer, average 5-6 hours of daylight and no concern of developing bipolar disorder as a result, I will recommend it.

I lived in San Bruno, Lafayette, Union City, and Castro Valley. We love it here in Sammamish, and would never consider going back to the Bay Area despite the difference in weather. We were in CA 40 years, here 21 now. We still have relatives in Walnut Creek, Martinez and Redding but more than half of the extended family is up here now.

In the dead of winter the days are short, it will be dark when I go to work and when come home, but then in summer it's light as late as 10:30-11pm. Yes, the sun s infrequent from October-June, with 40+" of rain, mostly a light drizzle that you can still go out in and enjoy the outdoors. For me, far better than 90-100 all summer and the boring mild winters with occasional heavy rain and a constant worry of drought.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Californian12345

thanks guys. So to clarify, we currently live in San Jose. Was born and raised, so I know the Bay Area extremely well. My question is for people who have lived in both areas who have young families. just looking for some pros/cons of both areas.

thanks!

Major con: the weather. Some people get seasonal depression because of it. And kids can't play outside when it's raining or drizzling, which is much of the time, though spring can be glorious part of the time, and summers are warm, sometimes too warm. If you're looking at the Eastside, at least the schools would be decent. But on the Peninsula (Bay Area), the schools would be even better.

If I were you, I'd move out of San Jose to someplace like Menlo Park or Palo Alto, if affordable, and if not, then Lafayette or Walnut Creek. Great schools, great weather, plenty of room for kids to explore around, ride bikes, even go horseback riding (Lafayette & WC). IMO there's more for teens to do around the Bay Area than in Seattle. Public transport is better in the Bay Area, too. (Your kids will be teens someday.)

Other possible options: Santa Cruz (you could keep your SJ jobs), or Marin County. Mill Valley is a great place to raise kids (it's safe for them to run around town and play in the redwood groves), and Fairfax and Larkspur are nice, too.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by trollsack

Well aren't you feeling bored in San Jose? If you are happy with everything and the weather there you can stay there; Seattle does have a load of drizzle but I don't really care about year-round rain TBH, but you have to consider the fact that your kids might get bummed out since it would be raining majority of the time in Seattle. However Seattle has a great vibrant downtown and is coastal, and has the beautiful Lake Washington nearby, so it would obviously be more exciting than the nerd riddled SJ which has absolutely no variance at all.

Not sure what you mean by "coastal". Do you mean--has a marine environment? The Pacific coast is 5 hours to the west. From SJ and the Peninsula, meanwhile, the ocean is nearby.

[Potion of Boredom]

Also if you are moving to the Seattle area, I would suggest Bellevue as it is well developed and has great neighborhoods. Also Kirkland is a nice residential area.

If you are want to live right in the center of an urban city with lots of bustle, then get an apartment in DT Seattle.

[linnil]

So we are doing quite the opposite. As we are moving from Bellevue to San Jose.

As per eastside, Somerset has great schools and very nice views. Many Chinese/Asian family there. If you like bigger newer houses, Lakemont in south Bellevue is a great choice. The other side of Lake Sammamish has Sammamish, great schools but I feel it is a bit too far from everywhere in Seattle standard. Issaquah's South Cove, where I'm at now, is also great. Easy commute and very nice neighborhood.

Kirkland is a great area too, avoid 98034, 98033 is great. Not great school tho.

So if school is your concern, stay with Somerset and Lakemont/South Cove.

[linnil]

WRT the rain. Not as bad as people in Bay Area describe. Geez, I've been here for 6 years, and I am not a person who loves raining, but I never felt it brings me too much trouble.

It is a much more humid place and very lush. Summer here is heaven. Rarely goes beyond 90 ( you will start hear everybody whining when it does), and always sunshine, day is super long too. This will last from late May to early September. Then the gloomy days come and drizzles every now and then.

If you have kids, Seattle is a much better place to raise a family. You will need to look very hard to find schools that are not top notch here around Eastside. In Bay Area, it is quite the opposite.